Binge Drinking

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Binge Drinking

Binge Drinking

Let's say you're at a restaurant and you see a guy at a nearby table drinking an entire six-pack of soda pop in one sitting. Pretty bizarre behavior, right? That's 72 ounces of soda pop - and taking 72 ounces of any fluid into your body at one time isn't the best thing you can do for your system. Aside from the film on his teeth and the calories on his waistline, the soda pop drinker will probably be bouncing off the walls for hours from all that caffeine.

Now let's say the person was drinking a six-pack of alcohol instead of soda pop. Just as bizarre, but many college students do it all the time. It's called "binge drinking" - putting away at least five drinks at one time, in one sitting.

If you think the problem isn't all that widespread, consider this: 50% of college men and 37% of college women are classified as "binge drinkers." A recent study shows that students spend $5.5 billion each year on alcohol - more than they spend on soda pop, tea, milk, juice, coffee and books combined.